Part two of Julian May's four-book story of time travelers who go back to Pliocene Earth, only to find barbaric humanoid aliens in charge. The first installment of this series, The Many-Colored Land, was the subject of my last blog.
This novel is not as much fun as the first one, mainly because the action is much more predictable. Since the aliens have more-or-less enslaved the time travelers who have arrived over the years, the reader must anticipate that humanity will revolt. I mean, we all know how superior and independent Earthlings are.
I am going to give away much of the plot development here, so if you intend to read this series, don't read any more of this review.
As it turns out, the humans are able to achieve a limited victory over the aliens through a combination of the use of iron and water. Ring any bells? We all know that elves can be killed by iron, and will not cross running water. It becomes clear that May intends us to believe that the legends and myths about elves and dwarves are remnants of knowledge from actual happenings six million years ago. That's more than a little hokey.
I'll not re-read the remaining two novels in the series right now. I'll wait until my mind needs another installment of escapist reading.
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